Which gimmick worked, which didn't.

SpeedPagan

SpeedPagan

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Didn't work:

The under-glow: Honestly I found the under-glow to be half-assed. I was expecting Kurt Busch's at the burn-out in Nashville level of under-glow. However, we just got a half-assed attempt, might as well not done it at all

Choose Cone (parts): Now I liked the idea of the Choose Cone in theory & in practice in short tracks across the country, but a part of the allure of the Choose Cone was taking a risk. In the All Star Open, the Choose Cone definitely worked. Drivers were willing to roll the dice & choose the non-preferred line to gain spots. We also saw that lap being broadcasted.

However, the thing kind of fell apart in the ASR, it seems like drivers were willing to take risks & I say seem like because Fox Sports never showed the Choose Cone lap. They just picked up the broadcasting at 1 to go. I mean, at least give us a side by side with the Choose Cone lap.

What worked:

New number placement:. Honestly, I was mostly indifferent to NASCAR moving the numbers around. It seem like mostly an aesthetic choice with no real consequences.

However, I actually think some of the teams pulled it off & gave us some really awesome paint schemes. Others were more "meh." Hopefully, the number placement will be left up to the teams & we'll see some new exciting paint scheme in the future.

Bristol: This is kind of a mixed bag, while I loved the short track atmosphere, the All Star Open being "race your way in" & the close quarters racing Bristol encourages, the All Star Open was the only event where the Action on the track matched the atmosphere.

The All Star Race was a Sunday drive in comparison. I don't know what can be done to spice up the ASR without resorting to more gimmicks. Maybe remove the traction compound?
 
Generally agree with your analysis. Underglow was underwhelming, which I suspected it would be at just the rear of the car, but didn't add much anyway with the lights bright. I like the choose cone and think it will be adopted for next season. Open races were great; I am a big proponent of having heat racing for select events next year (particularly on mid-week special races at short tracks). Agree the ASR was a bit disappointing but thrilled Chase won.

A couple more observations:

> Was nice to hear from Waltrip despite his false cue for the "boogity". He retired at the right time.
> Still don't understand why they forced the broadcast team to stay in remote studios in Charlotte for this race. Gordon was late to note spins and wrecks because he can;t see them in real time (he's watching what we are watching).
> GREAT to have fans back in the stands, and the drivers certainly enjoyed it.
 
the under glow would have looked much better if they were allowed to run the colors of the car. Kinda like Johnson's car would have looked good with a purple neon, and the energizer car as well. And it just looked stupid only at the rear of the car.

The choose cone I didn't really pay much attention to.

The numbers, a few of the cars I really liked, the food city car, Energizer, Elliott's car I kind of liked. But I wouldn't want them to keep it. I remember when the ASA series switched over one year to do that, I couldn't stand it.

Bristol was 50-50 for me, I didn't really enjoy it that much, but didn't hate it either.
 
Under glow - disappointing
Choose cone - I liked it and can see where it would become very interesting at some tracks.
Number placement - liked it
Bristol - feel it is better than Charlotte. I originally thought the stages were too short, but after watching last night I think they made a good call on them.
Fox - At Bristol with the short stages there is no reason to break away for commercials. In stage 3 with 20 laps or so to go they went side by side as Elliott was passing Blaney for the lead. What was worse, I thought there were only 3 stages. That's on me though.
 
I think many were expecting the underglow to look like it did at burn-out contests, with minimal external lighting to wash it out and with lots of smoke to diffuse it. If that was the standard, many were going to be disappointed regardless of the colors chosen. I'd still like to hear if the drivers found it distracting when viewed from a trailing car.

I liked the cone and would love to see it implemented full time. I agree the network needs to focus on it when the drivers are choosing. They should also point out at least the first driver to chose the 'road less traveled' and how what spot in line he moved up from.

I have no opinion on the number placement. Absolutely none. It has no affect on the racing.

I'm not a big fan of the All-Star race in the first place, except as an experimental test bed, so I don't really care where they run it.
 
I too thought the underglow was a disappointment. The NASCAR tracks are just SO WELL lit these days, that it just really doesn't make much sense, and debuting it on a concrete track only made it more lame. I think the Choose Cone is a winner, but TV needs to do a far better job of covering the results of it. Is it me, or are Mike and Jeff actually regressing? I have always been a big Mike Joy fan, and while I have never been a fan of Jeff in booth, I thought he had gotten a LOT better. Lately, I have been underwhelmed by both of them, both from a content and a style standpoint. I'm sure the remote broadcasting and social distancing has not helped, but still....
 
Underglow: very mreh, but if the younger demographic likes it then good. I would like to see it in person, as it looked so "fake" on tv that I really thought Fox was adding some processing to the broadcast a la the glowing puck failure in their hockey coverage many years ago.

Choose cone: this (just my .02) is a nice wrinkle that will work a lot better in a full length race with a definite preferred lane to restart. If everyone wants top, would be interesting to see someone in 4th or 5th roll the dice and take low to start on front row. Another (albeit gimmicky) level of strategy and risk/reward.

Numbers: looked way better on real cars in motion than the still shots and renders shown pre-race. If it helps bring in sponsors, so be it.
 
Formerjackman said:
I too thought the underglow was a disappointment. The NASCAR tracks are just SO WELL lit these days, that it just really doesn't make much sense, and debuting it on a concrete track only made it more lame. I think the Choose Cone is a winner, but TV needs to do a far better job of covering the results of it. Is it me, or are Mike and Jeff actually regressing? I have always been a big Mike Joy fan, and while I have never been a fan of Jeff in booth, I thought he had gotten a LOT better. Lately, I have been underwhelmed by both of them, both from a content and a style standpoint. I'm sure the remote broadcasting and social distancing has not helped, but still....
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I think Mike is a simply "give no Fs" mode, and Jeff is being hindered by not being at track and having to rely on shoddy camera work.
 
This says it all. The All Star in every sport is useless and not very entertaining and now Nascar has joined the gang. Time to get rid of it.

The All Star Race needs to end. It’s not what it used to be.
[/QUOTE]
 
StandOnIt said:
Don't f'n watch, it's just that simple.
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It's a drain on teams' resources that could be better used elsewhere for races I do want to watch. It's going to be that whether I watch or not. Didn't a bottom-feeder team opt to sit it out as unaffordable?

It's the same guys every week, on tracks they visit regularly. What's 'All Star' about it?
 
I understand Wallace's point, McDowell's hypocritical behavior would gall my ass also. I've been watching preacher Joe do it for years. Should have listened to Gibbs on Jr's show, they had some kind of celebrity that Jr liked show up at Gibb's house when they were pitching Jr to drive a Toyota for Gibbs. He's an old hand doing that kind of stuff.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
It's a drain on teams' resources that could be better used elsewhere for races I do want to watch. It's going to be that whether I watch or not. Didn't a bottom-feeder team opt to sit it out as unaffordable?

It's the same guys every week, on tracks they visit regularly. What's 'All Star' about it?
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Don't watch. It's just that easy. It's entertainment..change the channel. IMO whining watchers are freakin nuts, and they come up with all kinds of B.S. to justify their wasting their time.
 
StandOnIt said:
Don't watch. It's just that easy. It's entertainment..change the channel. IMO whining watchers are freakin nuts, and they come up with all kinds of B.S. to justify their wasting their time.
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When I see someone whining constantly I just view them as crying for attention and kind of feel a little sorry for them because that tells me they are probably going through life without the capability of truly enjoying anything...so they don't think anyone else should enjoy it either.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
It's a drain on teams' resources that could be better used elsewhere for races I do want to watch. It's going to be that whether I watch or not. Didn't a bottom-feeder team opt to sit it out as unaffordable?

It's the same guys every week, on tracks they visit regularly. What's 'All Star' about it?
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NASCAR, like most of the other sports just can't resist the urge to include almost everyone. Jimmie Johnson, who even I can't remember his last win? FOUR drivers transfer out of the open? Can't we have ANYTHING that is truly exclusive? Look at the Clash. When it started it was the previous year's pole winners only, NO exceptions. So what if some years there were less than 10 cars? The drivers in the race EARNED their place. Now I think you had to have won a pole for a go cart race some time in your life to qualify.
 
I caught a bit of the race last night, we had family over. My DVR caught the race itself but not the Winston (oops) Open. So I am eager to watch everything when I get home. I still like the All Star race, its a novel concept. I do find its lost a tad bit of luster due to the rotating sponsors now for each race ( It was a big thing when a driver brought out a special paint scheme for the Winston. Some Legendary schemes for sure. But hey its a sign of the times now, I get it) and for other reasons I cant pinpoint which might just be in my head it just doesnt feel like a special event anymore. A cool event still though and I always never try to miss one of these. I do hope the race rotates from this point on maybe to other tracks that dont have a Cup race but the logistics of figuring out what packages to run might be a headache. I really would vote for it to rotate though, maybe we can some get some of that excitement back. If it came down to the All Star Race rotating or the Championship 4 Bowl, I'd still vote 100 out of 100 for the Championship race to rotate. But as for last night cant wait to get home and watch, im bummed I missed most of it.
 
Formerjackman said:
NASCAR, like most of the other sports just can't resist the urge to include almost everyone. Jimmie Johnson, who even I can't remember his last win? FOUR drivers transfer out of the open? Can't we have ANYTHING that is truly exclusive? Look at the Clash. When it started it was the previous year's pole winners only, NO exceptions. So what if some years there were less than 10 cars? The drivers in the race EARNED their place. Now I think you had to have won a pole for a go cart race some time in your life to qualify.
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yeah in my view you might be onto something there. It should be former winners of the All Star Race, Winners within the last year, All Star Open Winner and 1 Fan vote winner, thats the way I remember the race being. It just felt more prestigious to be in it. I'd go ahead and add former Cup Champions ( its still the most prestigious honor being a Cup Champ) as well as maybe a 10 or 15 lap dash Last Chance ( with a SHORT break to pit or work on cars to make adjustments) race for those that didnt win the Open, winner gets final spot for the evening.
 
For the first time in sport history, every driver who started the ASR finished on the lead lap.

Not sure if that bodes well for future ASR at Bristol.

I really thought with the race being at Bristol and fans in the stands for for the first time since the shutdown that the race would have been electric. In actuality was really tame and almost like not many drivers wanted to be there.
 
- The choose cone seemed somewhat insignificant but I could see the advantages at some places.
- Numbers were OK I guess but you can tell some teams just mailed it in. (could care less about it going forward)
- Move to Bristol was a positive. Even if you didn't care for the results last night it was still better than years past
- Under glow I didn't care for it, to me it made the cars look fuzzy or something (just not as crisp). It's just my guess, but this was a test and I wouldn't be at all shocked if the playoff drivers had under glow during playoff races
 
Don't f'n watch, it's just that simple.
[/QUOTE]
OR they could have a race that has some meaning to it, like points and a regular purse.
 
Team Penske said:
Don't f'n watch, it's just that simple.
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OR they could have a race that has some meaning to it, like points and a regular purse.
[/QUOTE]
They have been saying for years it is a race for a million dollar winner take all. Where ya been asleep? That would be meaningful
 
Snappy D said:
yeah in my view you might be onto something there. It should be former winners of the All Star Race, Winners within the last year, All Star Open Winner and 1 Fan vote winner, thats the way I remember the race being. It just felt more prestigious to be in it. I'd go ahead and add former Cup Champions ( its still the most prestigious honor being a Cup Champ) as well as maybe a 10 or 15 lap dash Last Chance ( with a SHORT break to pit or work on cars to make adjustments) race for those that didnt win the Open, winner gets final spot for the evening.
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Your criteria is a little generous for my taste. Win a race a points race in the last 365 days or watch it on TV.
 
Why is it okay for every other driver to give smartass interviews when they get wrecked? Why is it okay for Harrison Burton and Noah Gragson and Clint Bowyer to fight but not Bubba.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
Why is it okay for every other driver to give smartass interviews when they get wrecked? Why is it okay for Harrison Burton and Noah Gragson and Clint Bowyer to fight but not Bubba.
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you didn't include KDB, a driver over the years who has disrespected the sport, the car, run down small teams like he is some kind of king of the hill when he runs into them and it is his fault and the yappers mostly sit on their hands and you don't hear a peep out of them. But Bubba can't call out McDowell? Wallace had a lot riding on that race, he is good there and last year he raced his way into the big race. I doubt if McDowell would have seen a top 5 in the prelims.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
Why is it okay for every other driver to give smartass interviews when they get wrecked? Why is it okay for Harrison Burton and Noah Gragson and Clint Bowyer to fight but not Bubba.
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You’re seeing and hearing only want you want to see and hear. Expand.

You act like Kyle Busch isn’t the most hated driver in NASCAR and that Ricky Stenhouse isn’t touted by fans and drivers alike for being wreckless and stupid.

Take the skin color blinders out of your equation and life won’t be as evil as you want it to be.

You’re also missing the point that Bubba was justifiably heated, upset, pissed, etc.. but he decided to attack Michael based on his religious beliefs and character instead of how he drives.

Imagine for a moment if the roles were reversed and Michael had said “What a **** move. I’m sure he’ll send me a text about how he loves everyone no matter skin color and that he respects everyone. What a joke he is.”

That would be over the line and stupid.

Two things can be true at once. Bubba was rightfully pissed for being hooked but he let emotions get the better of him and he got personal instead of professional.

It’s still makes for good TV.
 
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Formerjackman said:
Your criteria is a little generous for my taste. Win a race a points race in the last 365 days or watch it on TV.
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Well I think being a Cup Champion should be an exemption life time for these type of deals, its that prestigious to be a Champ. I also think former All Star race winners should get an exemption to show how prestigious this event was, is and could be again.
 
Under glow - I can take it or leave it, if they go with it add more colors.

I liked the choose cone.

I didn't notice any real difference with the number placements.

The broadcast team needs to be at the track.
 
Underglow-meh, I was looking forward to it, just felt they halfassed it, wasnt expecting it to be like it was for the burnout, maybe something in between, maybe if they color coded it with the sponsor colors, I dunno, it was not worth the effort IMO.

Numbers- meh

Chose a cone- indifferent to it( just because it got very little attention during the race), need to see it used during a PPR.

ASR- I was really looking forward to the ASR at Bristol, and The Open was the best race of the night, the ASR was no better than last years ASR, the excitement level just was not there for it being at Bristol.
 
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StandOnIt said:
Don't watch. It's just that easy. It's entertainment..change the channel. IMO whining watchers are freakin nuts, and they come up with all kinds of B.S. to justify their wasting their time.
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Ah, but I didn't watch. Watched the Open happily, watched stage 1, realized I didn't care and went to bed.
 
Underglow --- didn't shake my world. Actually didn't pay much attention to them.
New number placement --- I liked it.
Choose cone --- wish I could have seen it in action. Went by so fast I kept missing it.
 
Formerjackman said:
NASCAR, like most of the other sports just can't resist the urge to include almost everyone. Jimmie Johnson, who even I can't remember his last win? FOUR drivers transfer out of the open? Can't we have ANYTHING that is truly exclusive? Look at the Clash. When it started it was the previous year's pole winners only, NO exceptions. So what if some years there were less than 10 cars? The drivers in the race EARNED their place. Now I think you had to have won a pole for a go cart race some time in your life to qualify.
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Really? Where have you been...these days everyone gets to participate and everyone gets a trophy, there are no losers. <sarcasm>
 
Underglow : out the back only, was visually underwhelming.
Cone : would rather keep things the way they are coming off pit road.
Number : for the teams/sponsors that put in the effort, improved the paint scheme and sponsor placement look on multiple cars. Liked it.
 
Under glow- not really a fan. I mean it didn’t make me angry or anything, but it really doesn’t add anything worth calling your relatives and waking them up for...

number placement- it looked ok. I just don’t see what the advantages are to moving it. this is the point where someone reminds me “it gives the sponsor more room”... personally I didn’t see one car that seemed to really take advantage of it, and prove why its a good idea to move the number’...


Overall my impression: I feel like I watched a bunch of changes just for the sake of changing... a marketing tool... gimmicks.

didn’t add anything to the race. Lights looked kinda corny.

Running the race at Bristol: I love the idea the race has changed venues for this one year. That’s one change we needed to see... should it stay at Bristol each year? I don’t know about that... possibly consider rotating some tracks??? I think I’d be down for that idea.
 
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